Summary: Virtually anywhere you find a Muslim community, yoursquo;ll find a mosque -- or masjid, its name in Arabic. The masjid is where Muslims gather on Fridays ndash;- the holy day ndash;- for the congregational prayer known as Jumursquo;ah, as well as for other prayers throughout the week. But a mosque is more than simply a house of worship. Itrsquo;s often the heart of the Muslim community. ldquo;Itrsquo;s about meeting Muslim peoplehellip;to work together on different events.rdquo; Mosques At Home, Mosques Abroad Kuwaiti Aziz Alquraini is a journalism student at Indiana University-Bloomington. ldquo;The only difference I see is the diversity,rdquo; Alquraini says of the difference between attending mosque back home in Kuwait and in Bloomington. ldquo;Muslims from all over the world, they come to mosque here. But in Kuwait you see just Kuwaiti people therehellip;that is the only difference.rdquo; Alquraini says the mosque in Bloomington has been working to bring the Muslim and non-Muslim communities together to help foster understanding. Recent events include an Indonesian cooking lesson, a panel on the Five Pillars of Islam and, coming up, Muslims will talk about fasting and what Ramadan means to them. Bringing Mosques To The Screen It was that multi-faceted nature of the mosque Alquraini wanted to highlight in a video he recently shot for class. The idea to show people the mosque is more than simply a place Muslims go on Fridays. ldquo;I did this video, I just wanted people to know -- or to inform them about the mosque and what kind of service it has besides the praying time,rdquo; he says. ldquo;They offer classes for children to teach them Arabic, Qurrsquo;an and the prophet stories. Itrsquo;s not just about praying. Itrsquo;s about praying and classes.rdquo; Mosques, You're Welcome! Alquraini says he hopes his video can make the mosque seem less strange to non-Muslims and that theyrsquo;ll realize itrsquo;s a place they can visit too. ldquo;Itrsquo;s a place to meet people,rdquo; he says, ldquo;and introduce them to a religion maybe they donrsquo;t know about. And maybe learn Arabic there. If they want to learn Arabic therersquo;s free classes there.rdquo; If yoursquo;ve never been in a mosque before, you can take an virtual walking tour of the Suleymaniye Mosque in Instanbul, Turkey. It was completed in 1558 during the reign of the Ottoman Emperor Suleiman the Magnificent.
